


Making Amends

by PeriodDramaWriter



Category: The Greatest Showman (2017)
Genre: Caroline Barnum - Freeform, Charity Barnum - Freeform, Daughters, F/M, Fluff, Helen Barnum - Freeform, Love, Marriage, One Shot, P.T. Barnum - Freeform, Pregnancy, Romance, The Barnums, husband and wife
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-14
Updated: 2018-09-14
Packaged: 2019-07-12 08:58:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15991940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeriodDramaWriter/pseuds/PeriodDramaWriter
Summary: One-shot: Things still aren't perfect in the Barnum household after Phineas quits show business to become a devoted husband and father to his wife and children - his girls still fear that he will leave again and his guilt follows him around - but Charity is there as usual to support him and see the best in him. Will she make him leave the past behind and move on? Read to find out (I own nothing)Also, this is my first fanfic for The Greatest Showman so please let me know what you think!





	Making Amends

Phineas felt his heart swell with love for his little girl as he allowed his fingers to trace the sharpness of Caroline's jaw on the evening of her ballet recital, his tender gaze fixed upon her as he was sat on the edge of her bed and her piercing blue eyes were half-lidded as she was beginning to succumb to the clutches of slumber. 'Did I do well tonight, Daddy?' She whispered, her voice coated with fatigue.

'You were the best dancer on that stage, sweetheart, and you looked so beautiful.' He smiled before tucking a long strand of dark hair back beneath her ear and giving her porcelain cheek a soothing caress with the back of his palm. 'Your made your Mummy and I so proud and we love you so much.' Caroline offered him a tired smile before she sat up and pressed her lips to his cheek in a tender kiss.

When she drew back she wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders before hiding her face in the side of his neck and releasing a deep sigh of contentment. 'I missed you so much when you left with Miss Lind.' She admitted as he ran his large hands over the length of her back through her nightgown. 'You'll never leave us again, will you?' She drew back from his shoulder, her eyes sparkling with hope.

'Never.' He somehow managed to choke out, his voice trembling with emotion as he took her face in his hands. 'It was so wrong of me to leave you all behind like that and I promise you that – from this moment on – I am going to be here to read to you and your sister and to tuck you into bed at night. I am never going to go anywhere without the two of you or your mother again.' Caroline smiled softly.

He was unable to resist the urge to plant a number of warm kisses onto the centre of her forehead, her eyes falling closed as he did so before he stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. 'It's time for you to get some sleep now, darling.' He told her before drawing back her quilt again and allowing her to slip beneath it, his little girl releasing quite a large yawn as her head hit her pillow. 'Goodnight, precious.'

'Goodnight, Daddy.' She murmured as her eyes were closed and her hand had disappeared beneath her pillow, a look of bliss on her face as he leaned down to nuzzle a kiss onto her hairline before rising from the bed and padding over to the bed that Helen was sound asleep in. He lifted her pillow slowly in order to make certain that she had a handkerchief beneath it, his eyes glistening with love for her.

He braced his hands either side of her sleeping form before leaning down to kiss the side of her head through her soft blonde curls. He took a moment just to gaze down at her as she was caught in the clutches of slumber, her thick dark eyelashes fluttering against her cheeks as her rosebud lips were ever-so-slightly parted and the softest of snores were coming from her. She was just like her mother.

His daughters had changed so much in the time that he had been away on tour with Jenny and while he was proud of them for coping so well in his absence, it broke his heart to know just how much he had missed. He had missed several of Caroline's ballet recitals and he had missed having Helen drift off to sleep against his chest whenever there had been a rainstorm or when she had had a nightmare.

He knew that he couldn't change the past, however, and Charity had told him countless times to just leave the past in the past and consider the consequences when making choices in the years to come. She was the wisest, most supportive wife in the world and he loved that about her. After reassuring himself that both of his girls were sleeping well, he picked up the candle and walked out of the room.

His wife was sat at the small desk in the sitting room when he closed their daughters' bedroom door behind him, his heart racing as he blew out the orange flame on the candle before approaching her from behind and setting the candle down on the desk. He then ran his hands up and down her arms as he pressed his lips to the top of her head. 'What are you up to?' He inquired as he nuzzled her hair.

'I was just replying to a letter that mother sent.' She replied as she leaned back in her chair and her head leaned against his chest, a breath-taking smile accentuating her features as she gazed up at him and he dipped his head to capture her lips with his in a languid kiss. 'Oh, I love you, Phineas Barnum.' She sighed in delight before taking one of his hands in hers and placing warm kisses on each knuckle.

Helping her up from the chair and placing his hands upon her waist through her floral dressing gown, he looked into her gentle brown eyes as he drew her close. 'I love you too, Charity Barnum.' He told her. He then removed one hand from her waist before taking her chin upon his forefinger, tilting back her head and grazing her lips with his again. 'I still can't believe that I almost ruined what you and I have.'

'I don't want what happened in the past to haunt you for the rest of your life.' She told him, running the palms of her hands over his chest as he held her flush against him. 'You made a mistake, darling, but you made everything alright in the end and that is all that matters. I love you; the girls love you, and – and soon there's going to be someone else to love you just as much.' She sucked her lower lip.

Phineas stood in shock for a moment as his wife took a small step back from him before grasping his hand in her own and bringing it to her lower abdomen, the happiness etched into his features as she covered his hand with her own and gentle tears filled her eyes. 'You're pregnant.' He breathed as he smiled down at her, Charity nodding with a tearful giggle as she intertwined her fingers with his own.

'I am.' She sniffled. 'I'm afraid you're going to be having sleepless nights again.'

A squeal of delight tore itself free from her throat when he took her waist in his hands and lifted her from the floor before spinning her around, her arms looped tightly around his neck before he set her down once again and wrapped his arms around her slim waist. 'I don't care if I never sleep again.' He admitted as he caressed her lower back with his thumbs, leaning his forehead gently against her own.

'Can we _please_ get on with our perfect future now and stop living in the past?' She asked.

Phineas chuckled before pressing a kiss onto the tip of her nose, the two of them turning their heads to gaze out of the window at the stars that twinkled in the night sky. 'There is nothing that I want to do more.' He reassured her as she placed her head on his chest, his chin coming to rest on her crown.

As he held Charity in his arms and ran his hands over her back through the thin fabric of her dressing gown, he knew that he was the luckiest man in the world. He had two beautiful daughters, a perfect wife who he knew would always support him and an unborn child who was protected and growing in her womb. He knew that it would take time for everything to go back to normal, but he didn't care much.

He was a different man to the one he had been a few weeks prior and he had managed to get his life back on track.

He had made amends.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment so that I know what you thought of this! :-)


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